Deception
by Larfles
Summary: (Updated version of The Deceivers.) When Sakura falls for a new boy at school, she gets more then she bargained for as she may have unearthed a conspiracy pertaining to the schools most secretive clique in school, the Akatsuki. Now she is in too deep and has find out what's going on before it's too late. AU, two OCs, gore, mental instability, future parings, character death.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the update and improved version of The Deceivers! I'm happy to say, this one will be improved from the last! Although, the overall plot will be almost the exact same, so expect to see a lot of familiar lines. I'm going to be posting pretty often until chapter 8 because it isn't done yet.**

Read and review! 

* * *

I awoke with a start at the ear splitting scream of my alarm clock; which was going to stop at nothing to see that a was up and ready to go that morning. Ah the first day of school, most call it day one of constant torment. I would be one of those kids. My name is Sakura Haruno and as of today I am a junior at Konoha High School: the only decent school for miles around apparently. I can't understand why they would say something like that. As far as I'm concerned there are some pretty cute boys in other schools. (Hot boys are the one major thing this school is lacking.)

Still exhausted from my late night reading binge for my summer reading assignment I failed to do till the last second. I slowly and not so surely rose up in my bed like a lame excuse for a zombie rising from her grave except being much too lazy to rip her way out of the ground. When I finally did pry myself from the grips of my nice, warm bed, I limped over to the bathroom to get ready for the first day of all nighters and endless stresses. As I hobbled to the bathroom, a small black and green glowing object wandered in to my line of sight. The object just so happened to be my clock, which read 7:45.

A surge of distress ran through me. "Oh god, I'm late!" I thought out-loud, searching desperately for my uniform and a little something to eat.  
Finding an orange in the refrigerator (and my uniform laying stupidly conspicuous on my dresser) I got dressed and rushed hastily out the door with orange in mouth.

* * *

When I arrived at KHS common grounds, I attempted to call out to my friends but could only muster a hushed wheeze. Finding in a heartbeat that just calling for them would be futile, I decided to make a mad dash over to them. My muscles screamed in protest at each step I took. I decided to give them a big "Screw you" and ran to them, breath coming out as heavy panting.

"Hey guys!" I breathed weekly. The two turned around at the sound I  
of my voice, and drew closer. Air of humor surrounding one and worry surrounding the other.

"Sakura, are you okay? You seem a little... out of breath." The brown hair girl asked, starting to calm down at my subtle regaining of posture.

"I'm fine. I'm Out of breath, but fine."

I smiled dimly at her, emerald eyes searching desperately for a clock to gauge how late I was. Then realized the something, how late could I be? The front commons bustled with kids, teachers, and the occasional principal. Joyous cries and melancholy moans twisted together into a confused yowl, which lingered like a fog over the commons.

"Um, Ino?" I began slowly.

"How late am I?"

Ino raised a brow, rolling her eyes as if to say "again?" She replied:

"You're not late at all Sakura. Honestly haven't you fixed your clock yet? You know I well as I do that you need to set it back a hour." Ino chided half jokingly.

"Okay Lady Yamanaka, I'll do whatever you say."

I slumped over comically in defeat, sliding my foot back and forth with fake guilt. Leave it to Ino to call me out on something stupid I did. Ino had been my bossy pseudo mother as well as Konoha School District's resident smart girl for years. I've considered her Miss Perfect ever since first grade. She was top of all of her classes, won most all beauty pageants she took place in, and just so happened to have the best family in the world. In addition, she was pretty enough to be in the popular crowd. Needless to say, envy of her took hold of me sometimes.

"Can we cut the useless banter and talk about a worthwhile topic? Like maybe our classes?" My other best friend, Tenten asked, rolling her eyes in irritation. I wanted to assume she was tired of our constant bitching. Tenten was just that kind of person, can't stand our little jokes. To be fair, she couldn't really stand jokes at all. Tenten came from a very strict family and they rubbed off on her a lot. That doesn't mean she wasn't awesome! Tenten was super cool and one of the nicest people I knew. Lately she had been telling us about how her father was teaching her how to use weapons, like, shinobi weapons. I suppose in a way I envied her too.

"Our classes are a worth while topic?" Ino questioned.

Tenten gave a small nod.

"Yeah, we might have each other in one of our classes. I don't know about either of you, but personally I'm glad I don't have too many hard classes this year." She said.

I sighed at I thought of my schedule.

Since this was junior year, there were very few easy classes that I should have been taking. Collages looked at this year the most. That meant we needed to kill ourselves trying to take hard classes.

"I doubt we have classes together this year. We haven't since eighth grade." I reasoned.

I took my schedule out if my backpack and waved it around it around for emphasis. A quick comparison of our schedules confirmed our suspicion. Just then the bell rang, sending all the students around us gallivanting down the halls. Out if the corner of my eye I saw some little freshman with a bewildered look in their eyes. Poor guys.

"Well girls, I better get going! See you two later!" Ino called as she dissolved into the crowd of people.

"See ya!" Tenten and I shouted before parting ways ourselves.

* * *

I had little trouble finding my first class, Trig with Mr. Hatake. Although the sheer amount of kids mixed with my tendency to get shy in the first day caused me to float around the front of the class, nervously gazing out the window. I wished I could go back home and sleep.

"Miss Haruno, take a seat behind Mr. Uchiha." Mr. Hatake said, not looking up from some sort of book as he talked.

Mr. Hatake asked, pointing to the desk behind a boy I didn't recognize. I hesitated to say anything in response and promptly sat behind the boy. That is when I got a good look at him. He was tall and muscular, having very few noticeable flaws. The uniform he wore fit him perfectly, not too tight and not to lose. His hair and eyes were dark, almost black. My heart pounded in my chest, this boy had to be the most cute I've ever seen! And to make things better he sit right by me!

I let the rest of the hour pass as I contemplated how to go about talking to this boy. Mr. Hatake rambled on and on, jumping from subject to subject. Still absolutely lost in the thought of Sasuke, I almost missed the bell indicating the end of the class. God I loved him.

Most classes whooshed right by me with haste. Maybe it was how boring and passable the day was. Or maybe it was my current fixation, but every class up till lunch became a blur immediately after I left. Lunch on the other hand happened to be the most eventful instance today.

I grabbed my lunch from out of the end of the yelling, screaming kid all arguing over who got the last slice of bacon pizza, and plopped down at my usual table. I sat at the outcast table, which meant everyone there was uncool and don't fit in anywhere else. We formed a bit of gang being that all of us are loners. All of us had to stick together right?

"Hey Sakura, how is your day so far?" Tenten spoke first.

"Ah, it was pretty boring. Nothing interesting-" I paused.

"But there is this one really cute guy I like. His name is Sasuke Uchiha."

I winced at the proceeding silence. The whole table exchanged glances with each other. By the looks on their faces I could tell this was bad.

"S-Sakura... I don't know if you should talk to him. I-it seems very risky..." The youngest girl at the table, Hinata, commented meekly.

I gave an expression of utter perplexity .  
After a moment I piped up.

"Why is that? You don't like him yourself do you?" I leaned in towards her, giving her a nudge. She doubled back in shock.

"N-no, I don't like him. I hardly know him. I'm just a little worried because Karin has her eye on him." Hinata replied, immediately shrinking back as if to prevent me from eating her alive.

Instead I narrowed my eye and sat back in my seat. My face grew hot at the thought of that queen bitch being together with Sasuke. I shouldn't have been as surprised as I felt. It wasn't like Sasuke wouldn't fall for her. She had the entire school at her fingertips, so it didn't matter if he failed to love her now, because she would make him.

I balled my fists in anger. There was absolutely no way I would let Karin have him. None.  
I slammed my fists on the table making the platters and plastic bottles tremble with the force of the impact.

**"There is no way in hell I'm letting that retard princess get her grubby hands on Sasuke!"** I screamed in rage.

A hush fell over whole table. Hell, the whole cafeteria got dead quite. Immediately I double took, shocked at my outburst and how many people stopping what they were doing because of it. The volume of the kids around me rose, but my friends remained silent for a good minute.

"Wow. I had no clue Karin liking Sasuke would set you off."

The brown haired boy, Kiba said softly, scratching his head in embarrassment

He was the only boy in our group at the moment. From what I heard, he was once a huge jock. As soon as his sister needed help with their animal shelter after their parents died, he had to quit all of his sports. Kiba said that it became a time consuming ordeal, so he couldn't go back to playing football. I don't know how it affected him, but he seemed to really want to play again. Aside from that, he is very protective of all of us and can be pretty sweet under his tough exterior. Oh, and he lived in his family shelter, animals were for sure his greatest obsession.

"Uh, yeah... I guess I did get worked up a little. I just can't stand the thought Karin getting everything she wants." I softened my voice on the last word. A sinking feeling took over when I realized how stupid my action had been.

Suddenly the whole room started to buzz loudly with surprising fervor. I twisted in my seat of find the source if the uproar. Instead I was met with a small group of girls. Behind them a was giant mass of students of kinds. Freshman, seniors, pretty, ugly, tall, short, all gathered around the outcast table. A small shift in the position of the girls before us revealed a red headed girl who slowly approached the table. She admittedly could knock a man backwards using her appearance alone. Her red hair draped over her back, like a velvet curtain. Her legs were long and dainty, giving her a very feminine look. She kept all the boys drooling, even when she wore her school uniform, which hugged her body so tightly that every curve of her body was plainly visible. This was Karin.

Karin forcefully slammed her fists down  
on the table causing, us to jump. The cafeteria fell deathly silent again. Now they watched, wondering what the next move would be.

"So you're the bitch who wants to steal Sasuke away from me?" Kairn sneered through her teeth.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Ino, Tenten and Kiba glaring straight at Karin. Hinata, on the other hand buried her head in her jacket, poor girl. I smiled sweetly at the bitch. With my friends backing me up, I wasn't going to go down easily.

"He's not yours you fucking whore!" I replied back in an almost musical way, emerald eyes staring insensitively at her.

"Look here missy."

The red haired bitch growled, grabbing my pale pink hair and yanking upward roughly.

My friends sprung out of their chairs and lunged for Karin. Karin, with startling speed evaded my all friends who stumbled forward in shock. I was harshly dragged by the hair on to the tile floor. My head slammed into the ground and I finally felt the pain I had been expecting the whole time. It started as a dull but tolerable pain, from there the pain escalated in to a sharp, excruciating hurt which caused my ears to produce a defining ring.

"I think we have something to talk about." Kairn snarled, pulling me up by the chin in order to force me to lock eyes with her.

"I honestly don't have time nor energy for your bullshit. Sasuke isn't your and never will be. As far as I'm concerned I have just as much right to be with him as you. So please do me a favor and back the fuck off."

I don't think I caught more of what she said. All I could hear was the harsh ringing in my ears and the muffled cries a onlookers insisting the two of us fight. My eyelids began to droop suddenly. The world itself folded and collapsed as everything went dark.

* * *

I awoke blinking in puzzlement at my surroundings. I found myself on a green cot in a plain white room sporting several posters depicting the human body and at least one telling of proper hand washing methods. Tongue depressors lined shelves which were pushed against the walls. The room had a bizarrely sterile smell to it. I slunk down in the cot. Oh god, this was the nurse's office wasn't it? Just then the schools lone nurse, Miss Shizune arrived with a spiky blond haired boy.

"Why did she bring him here?" I mumbled under my breath in irritation. I knew that boy all to well. I don't think I'd ever met a person so mind numbing annoying.

"Are you feeling alright Miss Haruno? You took quite the spill in the cafeteria earlier." Miss Shizune asked, face twisted into a concerned frown.

"I'm fine thank you." I replied, eye fixed on the boy standing beside her, grinning like a maniac.

"Here, let me take your pulse."

Shizune refused to give me time to respond before going right to work. All three for us sat in silence as she worked. I was first to break the awkward lack of talking.

"So how long was I out?" I enquired timidly, it felt as it uttering as much as a syllable would upset her. I knew that certainly couldn't be the case, but my mind only functioned partly right now.

"Forty minutes. You woke up five minutes after the initial fight and passed out again. It's sixth hour if you were wondering." Shizune replied, still preoccupied with making sure I was fine.

"And Naruto, what's he doing here?" I pointed to the boy who promptly sat on my bed hastily. He wore his usual giant grin that just screamed "I have never been sad in my life."

"I'm always in here! I help Miss Shizune by doing odd job for her! But I did get your little scuffle with Karin, and let me tell you we were all scared for you when you hit the ground!" Naruto almost shouted. Then it hit me; I had no clue what had happened after I got knocked out.

"I think you know what I'm going to say. What did I miss?" I propped myself up, bracing to hear of the amount of shit that hit the fan.

Naruto paused, watching the nurse as she backed off and left the cot to take care of someone on the other side of the blue curtain which separated my cot from another next to mine.

"It got bad real fast. After you passed out, Kiba got furious and punched one of Karin's friends. Then her boyfriend got angry and they started fighting. I don't how, but it that sparked a massive fight among pretty much the whole cafeteria. "  
I gulped, this was going to be pinned on me. I knew it.

"What about Karin? Did she get what was coming to her?"

Naruto's expression drooped oddly. I had never seen him look upset like that before. "Um yeah..." He trailed off and shifted his focus to his feet quickly.

"She left as soon as it got bad... No one knows why exactly. Although some kids say they caught her taking about "needing to find someone." before disappearing to the crowd.

My emerald eyes narrowed in disdain at the thought of Karin stumbling out of a chaotic lunchroom completely unscathed. It made my blood boil. She never found herself in need, or lacking attention from her peers. As far back as I can remember she has been surrounded by cronies and yes-men who bent to her every whim. Now that she was faced with a little lowly girl challenging her, she threw a fit like a three year old.

"Who was she trying to find?" I wondered aloud, not truly expecting a solid answer from the hyperactive blond.

"I dunno, maybe a teacher? A few did come to brake up the fighting right after she left." Naruto said.

I snorted at the absurd notion. With a sigh I corrected him. "I doubt it. She wouldn't do anything not benefiting herself."

Both me and Naruto reviled in awkward silence for a long time. Naruto shifted uncomfortably in place, glancing at the clock and then down at his feet. Even though I grew more puzzled by the moment, I refrained from questioning his actions.

"Naruto, you may go to class now. Sakura, I need to attend to business elsewhere. Would you mind stay here for at least ten minutes?" Miss Shizune asked both of us respectively.

I nodded, seeing Naruto dart out of the office with no hesitation. I rested in my bed for ten minutes or so, when I caught the sound of a hushed voice and the resounding echo of shoes in a empty hall.

"Itachi, are you there?"

The low voice asked in a strange hushed manner. To my surprise no one responded to his question. Stealthily, I rose from my cot and sneaked over to the doorway in curiosity. I peered out to find that Kisame Hoshigaki had been talking to someone, namely Itachi, over his cell phone. Kisame was a member of an odd little clique called the Akatsuki. I had no clue what they did, but I, like everyone in the school could tell you that you could not under any circumstances befriend them.

Personally I find it difficult to understand why Kisame was in the Akatsuki. He bore a striking resemblance to a shark. On top of that he was huge, mean, and blue. However none of it mattered right now as I leaned against to the doorframe to get a better listen.

"You're sick then?"

"Heh heh, Itachi, ya haven't told your folks why you're sick I hope."

"Yes, yes I know. We're in deep shit if even a soul finds out. Your uncles will flip the shit out and kill us before the villagers do, eh?" Kisame added a fake chuckle at the end.

"Sasuke? Wait you told Sasuke about it? What the flying fuck is wrong with ya kid?"

"Yes. I know you care about him deeply, but not even he should a aware of what the Akatsuki does."

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of Sasuke. What the hell was he doing with the Akatsuki? Were Itachi and Sasuke brothers or something? It would make this conversation make more sense.

"I guess you're right. He will be joining us pretty soon after all. Ya shouldn't be thinking about it right now. Get some rest."

"Yeah I should be in class... but the thing is, I'm not."

"Blah blah blah, I'm keepn' my voice down."

"Goin' to work today? Yeah, although I got fired from the last job I had."

"What about this one? I'm working with the blondie, what's his name? Naruto? Yeah that's him. I cook with him in the local orphanage."

"He's an orphan himself it seems."

"Shut up, Itachi ya know everything."

"Enough of that, I have something bigger to say. We'll still be holding the Akatsuki meeting tomorrow, but the leader said it will be at the drive-in instead of your house."

"No. You're not well enough to hold the meeting. Don't give me that shit. I know it's not contagious, I don't care. Ya gotta stay in bed."

"Good boy. Now what about the fact the new meeting location is the fucking drive-in? Ain't it weird?"

"I think leader has gone a little coo-coo after hearing his little buddy almost lost his life while training."

"Oh, didn't get the news? Nagato was horribly injured in some sort of training regimen."

"Nagato, kinda short has long red hair covering one of his eyes? Has a burning crush on that green eyed girl Sasuke says sits next him in first hour. Has some supposedly god-like powers."

"Now ya got it! I think that sickness might be getting to ya to if you're able to forget him!"

"He was recently sent to the hospital when he started crying about not being able to feel his legs. We found out later he couldn't use them because they were too badly damaged. A few days later he was sent home and right after was sent to a loopy bin. He screamed some damn creepy things like: "I'm not meant to see what I've seen," "I know too much. I can't know this much, it will kill me," "When the end comes I will still be here, and they will still be here," "No clue what any of that means. It might just be crazy babbling for all I know.

"He checked out yesterday, pretty sure he's at home now. He won't be at the meeting either."

"Guess this is how it's gonna be from now on. Your fucked up uncles are gonna break us down one by one until they find out the whole experiment was a bust."

"True. They'll just do it to more poor saps like us."

"I should go back to class now. Seventh hour is going to be starting soon, can't miss chemistry now can I?"

"Itachi? I... I miss ya kid."

Kisame cracked a toothy grin at whatever response he got. The shark man hung up still grinning widely. He dashed down the long hall just as the bell ring. Seeing the nurse fighting crowds of commuting kids pushing their way to their next classes, I dashed back to my cot and threw myself on. I twisted back into position and shut my eyes tightly.

"Sorry that took so long. I had some issues to deal with involving Ms. Tsunade."

Miss Shizune smiled and laughed softly. I think she might have said something else. Too bad I had been to busy putting the pieces of the conversation I listened in on together. Sasuke might be linked to the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki have a leader and his friend has a crush on me. At least as far as I know. I'm the only green eyed girl that still by Sasuke in first hour if I'm paying enough attention. The Akatsuki are going to be meeting tomorrow the drive-in. If I can find a member who is going and follow them, I may be able to get closer to Sasuke.

I smiled devilishly to myself. Today hasn't been uneventful after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here we are that the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!  
Remember to read and review!**

* * *

The nurse told me I shouldn't go to back to classes for seventh hour, so I laid on my hard cot and began starring at the clock absentmindedly. After roughly fifty minutes Miss Shizune gave me the OK leave for home. I figured I wouldn't need to stop by seventh hour considering it was merely study hall. After a large swam of high schoolers made a mass exodus out the doors and started to walk home, I tentatively shuffled down through the near empty hall. Ino and Tenten joined me on my extensive trek to me house.

"Sakura, are you still hurt? Because if you are, someone will be paid a visit from their worst nightmare!" Tenten proclaimed with fervor.

"Please guys, I know you want to help me. I'm sorry, but right now want to forget what happened."

I sighed, bringing my gaze to the ground. I didn't feel as bad I them too believe. I knew I'd have some sympathy from my friends in order to ensure a trip to Konoha's only drive-in movie theater.

"Sakura, you were knocked out cold for almost forty minutes, are you sure you're fine?"

Ino asked with a sort of comforting softness in her eyes. I felt a little scummy for manipulating Ino and Tenten, but I needed to know more about Sasuke before Karin got to him. Although if I sat back and waited passively, I'd allow my chance to be with Sasuke to slip through my fingers.

"Would you guys like to go to Konaha drive-in with me? It is going to be Friday tomorrow." I said softly, forcing my voice to quiver. I needed to ham it up as much as I could.

"If it will take your mind off today's fight then we'd be happy to go!"

Ino's bright smile filled me with an amount of guilt that caused me to wince inwardly. I made a small promise myself that I would make it worth their while. It hardly mattered if I was present the whole time. As long as they were entertained and distracted by the movie, I could search for the base in peace.

"Thanks!" I said, dashing off in the direction of my house with so much haste I forgot to say goodbye to my friends as I left, or wave to my neighbor as I darted into my house. Slamming the door behind me, I flopped on my bed and started to put my plan together.

* * *

The movie usually started ten minutes after the sun sets. If I could find a member or two to follow around, I might have been able to find where the Akatsuki are located, as well as Sasuke. From the information I gathered through the years, the members I know are:

Deidara, the information guru.

Kisame, the weird shark guy.

Itachi, the rich boy and presumed hot brother of Sasuke.

Sassori, the werid puppet guy with the weird assistant girl.

Konan, biggest slut in Konoha High.

And lastly, Kakuzu... I had no clue if this guy was a kid or not.

All I have to do is hover far behind one of the members until they led me to the meeting place. In this case it would be Sasori I needed to follow because he could be followed there from Ino's house the easiest, due to the location of his house being across from her house.

A sly grin passed over my face as I stared up at my ceiling fan twirling around and around. This night would determine which girl had the upper hand. Sasuke would be out of Karin's grip soon enough.

Deep down I knew my plan had a massive chance of falling through in one way or another, but I took that risk wholeheartedly.

I awoke early the next day, eager to get done with school and put my plan into action. I expected Friday to be long and hard to sit through. To my delight, l breezed through the day and even forgot most of boring shit I had to sit through. After school, I rushed home to dress in more comfortable clothes. While heading out to Konoha drive-in my dad said something about having a good time, but I was already too far away to hear him clearly.

Both Tenten and I met up at Ino's house. Out of us three of us, Ino was the only one who was street legal. All three of use piled into her car and we drove off. Maybe my guilt started to ebb away at me a little more than I imagined, because our car ride seemed to contain part awkward silence and part small bantering sessions until we reached our destination.

* * *

Konoha drive-in consisted to two massive screens as well as a massive slab of blacktop where all the trucks parked. Right below the screens was a small rusted out playground. When my parents took me here as a child I adored riding the swings, trying to hang on to the iron merry-go-round while friends would try to spin it so fast I had to hang on for dear life, and most importantly, searching until dusk for a wild child in the neighboring forest. Legends regarding her were passed around since late forth grade. A half beast, half girl lurked in the densest part of the forest. Naruto, Ino, and I grabbed any opportunity we could to try and find ourselves the wild child to capture. None of us found a single trace of what we were looking for. Soon enough we lost interest in the wild child dwelling in the thick undergrowth of the forest. Naruto claims he saw her to this day. Only a moron would believe him. He pulls this sort of thing all the time.

Ino and Tenten pulled blue coolers holding assorted sodas, chips and junk food out of Ino's car. While they were preoccupied with setting up chairs and giggling excitedly to each other, I scanned my surroundings for Akatsuki members. I was little shocked to spot a short, red haired man heading towards the nearby forest. He looked around several times as if to be sure he wasn't being followed.

"Guys, I'm going to take a walk before the movie starts." I informed my friends, beginning to inconspicuously pursue Sasori.

"Don't get lost!" The two replied cheerily.

I never expected my mission to be so difficult. With each step I took, fifteen more people seemed to surround me in order to talk to their friends. Seconds passed before found that I had lost sight of Sasori. I gathered all the strength I possessed to push my way through the crowd of chattering people. At all sides I was buffeted until I squeezed out of the crowd. I then spied Sasori skulking into the forest alone. My legs became like magnets, I felt like I was no longer fully in control of my actions. Each step I took was nearly a disembodied movement that I failed to be able to control.

The instant I peeked into the forest Sasori vanished without a trace. He just disappeared out of nowhere. Sasori may have been a master of puppetry but that didn't equate to ninja. Wordlessly I crept in after him, still I saw no signs that Sasori had ever even been there. The forest turned out looking exactly how I remembered. Giant trees scratched the fading pink sky causing it to bleed red clouds. Undergrowth and weeds weaved their way across the soft soil terrain. But at the moment figured I should stop sightseeing. I needed to continue on with my goal. Carefully I began trekking through the undergrowth, watching for movement in the brush as in indication he could be near. Despite not being able to detect him any longer continuing on seemed a good option.

Almost ten minutes later I reached the heart of the forest. It had grown dark and the last dying light of day reached through the thick trees. I knew right there I wouldn't make it back in time. Certainly Ino and Tenten were wondering where I gone too. With a stinging sadness in my chest, I turned to leave when I spotting something. A faint light glowed weakly through a small hole in the brush. Upon closer inspection I found the light had been from a small rocky cave. Closer and closer I drew to the source until I heard a familiar sound, it was talking which came from inside the overgrown cave.

No one could be seen near the mouth, so I took my chance to enter while still hidden. The silent voices grew louder upon each step until I found I was able to hear every single solitary word said. Most of it turned out to be off color jokes and crude comments about dicks. Why would Sasuke hang around these guys? Sasuke acted nothing like them, quite the opposite in fact. Whatever, the Akatsuki had none of my interest except possibly Sasuke.

A wave a hushed silence washed over the cave leaving a hollow hum of a breeze outside. I shut my eyes tightly. Fearful that the next thing I saw would be an Akatsuki member.

"She's here my friends." Sasori's soft tone echoed off the walls. I could tell he was close, very close.

* * *

The glow which illuminated the cave dimmed to the point of nonexistence. Panic settled in my chest, which grew into a painful inferno of terror. My alarm made me twist my head from side to side in attempt to find my assailants, but to no avail. I remember little of my initial struggle, however my hands were soon bound in rope and I was led deeper into the cave.

Light returned to the cave, reviling six guys and a girl. Sasuke didn't seem to be present. Bitter self loathing bashed itself against my mind. I took a stupid gamble, and quite frankly lost badly. Not only was Sasuke not here, but I had stepped in the biggest pile of shit that could be stepped in.

"Miss, this is a private affair. What is your business here?" A tall blue eyed orange haired boy asked with strict finality.

I hadn't given thought to who the rest of the members were, with that said I still felt shocked by the speaker. Yahiko was his name. This guy had been the most popular in school since he first arrived as a Freshman. The in-crowd had become his self-centered bitch, and he also took the position of head of all the cool clubs. On top of this he was captain of the football team.

"I-I'm looking for Sasuke Uchiha." I squeaked.

A good portion of the members roared with laughter at my answer. A burly man with slicked back silver hair appeared right in front of my face, causing me to stumble backwards.

"Why the fuck would pretty boy SasGAY be with the Akatsuki? The man couldn't care less about us."

"I just thought-"

"Well it looks like someone thought fucking wrong!" The guy shouted.

"Hidan, shut up. The last thing we need is your squawking to burden the situation." The large man I knew as Kakuzu growled.

"Ah, fuck off money bags." Hidan scoffed.

"Please take your fighting outside. We don't need more conflict than we have now." Yahiko sighed

Hidan said nothing.

"Sasuke doesn't work with us thankfully. He might be at home if ya wanna to find him." Kisame commented.

I nodded weakly, too scared to move from my position.

"Sasori, Take her back to the drive in. We can't risk her seeing more than she has." Yahiko commanded.

Sasori approached me with an impassive expression on plastered on his face. I shrank at the sight of the small red head, only having the guts to follow him out of the mouth of the cave. We walked in dissonance until we got to the edge of the forest.

"What you pulled tonight was beyond stupid. Don't do it again or you will pay. And if I may make a suggestion, stay away from Sasuke." Sasori said flatly.

He left me to walk the rest of the way alone. By the time I arrived, the movie was already underway. Ino and Tenten darted towards me, telling me how they looked everywhere for me. I would have cared more if I wasn't so shaken up. I just wanted to forget what happened.

I couldn't keep myself from staring into the forest throughout the film. I now knew what no one else did. The location of the Akatsuki was in that forest. _They_ were the only beasts that existed there.

* * *

I was jogged back to reality by Ino asking me and Tenten if she could visit Shikamaru and Choji, two friends of hers who worked there. As soon as she left, I turned to Tenten.

"Tenten, do you think I should get over Sasuke? I know if I try hard enough I may get him someday, but I was wondering."

Tenten took a moment to think.

"At the moment, that might be for the best. I don't think chasing him around will do what you want it to. I know you like to think you love him, and you very well might, but let's face it, he isn't too accessible. Maybe you could find someone a bit easier?"

_Easier_. I thought for a solid minutes about who it could find. That's when it hit me, Nagato.

"You know who Nagato, is don't you?"

"Yeah, he was in my fifth hour, why?"

"Do you know where he lives?" I asked.

"I think he lives a block from school in the huge two story house. Are you going anywhere with this?"

"I know who I going to visit tomorrow. I overheard a rumor that he might like me." I said, looking between the movie and my friend.

"Good. I'm glad you haven't gotten down on yourself about Sasuke. I'm sure you'll get your change with him eventually." Tenten mimicked my odd method of watching movies.

Tenten's reassurance help a little, although I didn't she understood what I really wanted. Don't get me wrong. I loved Sasuke. I cared more about showing Karin and the rest of the popular kids that outsiders shouldn't have to watch as the popular kids take what they want.

Nothing was going to stop me from showing them what "loser" could do. All I had to do was get over a few road bumps.


	3. Chapter 3

Ino came back over to watch the movie with us about halfway through. The glow of the movie screen caused me to waver in conciseness until I fell asleep.

I awoke groggily to a moving van and glaring headlights which shined through the windows. Ino was telling Tenten she was taking us back to our respective houses because she worked at her family flower shop in the morning. Meanwhile, I laid my head down the seat and yawn loudly

"Hey sleeping beauty, did you have a good nap? You like, the best part of the movie!" I could hear a teasing tone in her words, especially sleeping beauty.

"So tired." I moaned, fighting back sleep even as we spoke.

"Go back to sleep then. We wouldn't want to have you too tired to walk up to your own house right?" Tenten cooed.

I failed to make it past one more word before falling back asleep. Early the next morning I woke up to a sweet smell wafting in the warm air. It took me a brief moment to register that I was in my bed, so I assumed one of someone carried me in.

"What time is it?" I wondered groggily as I turned to my alarm clock which read 12:39.

Mom must have been making lunch considering the vibrant smells. Getting out if bed was a day to day battle for me. Even the promising smell of food couldn't get me out of bed normally. Today differed from the normal however. Instead of sliding out of bed exhaustedly, I nearly jumped from my bed, got dressed and went to find my potential friend. Mom greeted me as I left my house and I greeted her and anxiously ran out the door without even acknowledging her food.

* * *

I received little detail on where Nagato's house was, so I relied on people I met on the street to guide me the correct direction. Very few people seemed to know what I was talking about, even fewer could tell me where I needed to go.

Finally, I got an answer. An old lady pointed me to south Konoha. She told me to look for a white two story houses which always kept the blinds drawn. Her last detail came across a little unnerving.

_"Don't bother knocking on the door, no one ever responds."_

My blood ran cold at her tone. In spite of the woman's eerie words, I thanked her with great unease and went on my way. South Konoha was pretty close to the easiest place to get to because I lived so close. It had gained a reputation for being a very nice, clean area where all the middle class citizens lived. Lawns were always neat and green. Most houses were garnished small decorations or a playground in the back. Trees were lush and abundant, with branches that reached out into the streets below. When I was younger, my mom drove me through South Konoha to get to my dance lessons. I wanted more than anything to live there. Sometimes I would stare at the bright, orderly houses that passed by us while my mom drove on. I imagined I had enough money to buy a house with a pool in back so I could swim for hours on end. Unfortunately my childish dreams were crushed when my dad lost his job and we were required to move into a smaller house to keep up with payments.

As I continued on the road, I began allowing my mind to wander away from me. Daydreaming was practically my hobby with how much I did it at school. When I got bored in class, I only had to tune out the world and place myself in a new one. Having such an imagination had a few drawbacks though, as I nearly passed up the house and kept walking. Spinning back in the proper direction, I shuffled briskly up to the place. I'd never created a mental image for it so I can say didn't quiet feel right starring the abode.

All blinds I could see were drawn, insuring light could not intrude into the residents.  
Paint chipped in huge masses on the siding of house, leaving ugly brown spots everywhere. Shingles were missing in obvious places giving the manor an awfully shabby appearance. I studied all possible details, cracks, and crevices to determine if I made a mistake in coming here. It looked more as if Nagato was some sort of murderer as opposed to a student.

"Excuse me Miss Sakura, why are starring at my house?"

The question caused me to double take. I was able it came from a boy, nothing else.

"Down here."He spoke stated softy, with a slight tinge of humor lacing his word.

I followed his instructions. What I saw was a little disappointing if Nagato was the boy I stood in front of. The boy in question was pale, very pale in fact, so much so that his sickly white skin seemed even whiter when the sun hit it. Scarlet hair draped itself over most of his face, save for one of his eyes. A haunting chocolate brown eye peaked out from his hair. It was a quite daunting how the boy gazed with wide eyed enamorment at me. None of his physical features bothered me. However an icy shock ran down my spine as I realized he sat in a wheelchair.

Don't get me wrong, I've never judged anyone off of a disability. Although his being in a wheelchair still caught me off guard. I suppose I just wasn't prepared for him to be crippled. Then it hit me, Kisame told Itachi about this guy. He had been crippled while training if I heard correctly. But another small detail had lingered in my head. He knew my name. Obviously I never told him what to call me, so how did he know my name was Saukra?

A friendly smile crept across my face. I tried to ignore the fact he knew my name and thought about his situation. He'd been through enough already. The last thing he needed was someone running away from him. I knew I should be as nice as humanly possible to this kid, already had his ability to walk taken away from him after all.

"I'm here to see you. The people at school told me that you were going to be out for awhile so I wanted to keep you company!" I chirped, still smiling brightly.

"Thank you Miss Sakura, I appreciate it. My name is Nagato. You probably know that though." Nagato replied softly.

"Have you heard of me at school? You sound like you know who I am." I asked.

"No. I just knew your name, Sakura Haruno." Nagato said with finality.

I stood awestruck at his words. Trying to move was a lost cause. My legs had locked up and I found myself unable to move. What the hell was he talking about? He just knew? This bastard was fucking insane! In my head I scolded myself for thinking like that. He was a crippled boy. He must have just been traumatized by the recent events. But with that said, Nagato guessed my name with disturbing accuracy. I decided to at least try to push that creepy incident aside and continue talking to him.

"I shouldn't have said that- right?" He asked, shrinking back in his wheelchair.

I dismissed Nagato's question altogether and tried to change the subject to prevent further awkwardness.

"How old are you Nagato?" I asked, priding myself in the perfect situation evasion.

"I'm seventeen."

Nagato fixed his sight on his twiddling fingers. Poor boy, he looked at least three years younger than he was. I wasn't shocked by the minor revelation. He might not have looked his age, but he was cute in a puppy dog kind of way.

The scarlet haired boy lifted his head around to meet my gaze.

"Do you want to come inside for awhile?" Nagato's soft smile came back, now it faltered slightly though.

* * *

"I'd love to!"

My fake eagerness earned me a grin from Nagato who he wheeled himself up the driveway and opened to door. Astonishingly the interior of the house was neat, clean and bright. He led me into the living room, stopping at the edge of a nearby couch he hoisted himself on and gestured for me to sit with him. I did so reluctantly, still not being completely comfortable with being here.

"So you really came here to see me?"

"Yeah, I don't know why I wouldn't. You seem like a nice enough guy."

"Thanks, I only get a few people visiting me. I'm not too popular as you can tell. I was hoping Deidara would stop by, but he's busy stalking people and collecting personal information today." Nagato added a light chuckle at the end.

"He's the archive guy isn't he?" I heard so many things about him, mostly pertaining to his work. He was also some sort of starving artist as far as rumors go.

"Deidara is a friend of mine; kinda... he was supposed to go shopping for me today. I assume he forgot. He does things like that when he's caught up in other people lives or his own art. That's fine I guess. I'll call Konan up later and see if she'd do it." Nagato's tone oozed with bitterness at every word in the sentence.

"Well he might be doing it now." I reasoned.

"I doubt it. He does this all the time. I've had to wait until nightfall for food three times in a row. When it's his job he never comes."

"Maybe you could hang out with me tomorrow! I swear I'll feed you!" My joke received dead air from the red head.

"I'd like to, don't get me wrong, but I think it might be a big hassle at the moment. I'm not supposed be outside. What I pulled today would have gotten me in big trouble if I was seen. I'd rather not risk conflict. I hope you understand." Nagato averted his visible eye from mine.

"It's okay. You need to spend time resting. You can't do that with me bugging you."

"Thanks for understanding."

We spent the rest of our time idly chattering with each other. Jumping from topic to topic and not staying on the same one for more than five minutes. Nagato offered to play video games with me. I being the awful gamer I am, turned him down. At the end of my stay I gave him my cell phone number, telling him we should hang out more often. Before I left, he called to me.

"Before you leave," He began. Honestly, I thought he was going to ask on a date right then and there.

"Stay out of the Akatuki's business. I know you're a nice girl. That's why you shouldn't put yourself in harm's way. Just leave them be, especially Itachi."

I spent no more time in that goddamned house. For whatever reason his last words just made me want to hightail it out of there as fast as I could.

I reached in to my purse and grabbed my phone as soon as I was far enough away. _"Should I call Ino to get me?"_ I thought to myself.

When I called Ino's house no one picked up. Unfortunately my walk commenced. The meeting I just had with Nagato buzzed in my head louder and louder as I continued on. He was nice enough, only problem happened to be his inherent insanity. Now his number was in my contacts. He could text me creepy ass messages whenever he wanted.

* * *

In my newfound funk I almost passed I building I wanted to check out for I long while. "Deidara's Archival Center" as Deidara himself insisted it be called. It was supposed to be a massive archive on every person in the school district. Not only for academic things either, pretty much anyone could use it to accesses personal details of everyone by merely paying Deidara for them. I figured since I walked by this place a lot, and Nagato knew Deidara, perhaps I would be eligible for a discount if I could maybe guilt trip Deidara into giving me one. More importantly I might be able to get helpful information from this.

There I stood, in front of the Archival building which in reality used to be Konoha Public Library. For roughly nine years it had sat unused until sometime between then and now, it became an underground collection of files. I pushed open the heavy glass doors which slammed shut immediately upon my entering.

Konoha Library used to be massive, with the largest collection of literature in the Land of Fire. Shelves once held so many books now held nothing but dust. It still had a huge imposing presence because of its size, although somewhere in the very back of the library, a small buzzing resonated in the walls. This place had certainly succeeded in creeping me out.

I drifted to the empty shelves, scanning all around for signs of life. I had the correct building. Surely I hadn't made a mistake.

Suddenly a loud "ding" reverberated through the deserted library, causing me to jump. Then another, and another, and yet another until I heard a man speak.

"Would client number one please proceed to the sign in desk?"

I recognized that voice. The speaker was that Hidan guy no doubt. Moving proved to be difficult for me in such a nervous state. My leg buckled when I tried walking. Instead I stumbled forward and tried to inch slowly to the long, former checkout desk.

"Please come to the desk client one!"Hidan repeated, closer to shouting than he had been a second ago.

I manage to essentially throw myself at the desk, but didn't find Hidan anywhere. Was Hidan hiding? Once more, I scanned around for instructions on what to do. I found a small, rusty bell on the desk and carefully rang it. To my surprise, Hidan appeared from what I assumed had been under the desk.

"Hello client- ah so it seems I got it right! Sakura Haruno, you _are_ client one aren't you?" Hidan asked in a half snort.

"Yeah, you see I friend mentioned this service and I remembered that it's on my way home." I explained.

"I see, do you have a reservation?" The silver haired man questioned.

"Uh, wait, I needed a reservation?"

"Why wouldn't you? Ah fuck, I guess that means no. Hold on let me see if we can squeeze you in now." Hidan pulled out a piece of paper on a clip board from behind the desk and slammed it down. He ran down rows of empty boxes where names should have gone. There were literally no names listed on the sheet.

"It might be a stretch because we are so busy, but we can make some room for your pretty little ass." Hidan pointed to a large back room with a thick glass window.

"Deidara is in that room. When you've got all your information then you can pay me. Afterwards, scram. We are extremely busy with work. Did I simplify your instructions enough?"

I rolled my eyes, pretending not to notice his thinly veiled insults towards me. I shoved past him harshly, not wanting to pay the guy more attention then what I already had.

"You don't seem like you do any business at all!" I said, turning around one last time.

"Just fucking get in there!" Hidan fired back

Deidara's office"consisted of a desk, desk lamp, shelves containing god knows how many clay figures, and a modest sized bed pushed against the back wall. I opened my mouth to call for the blonde, although I soon spotted him emerging from a door across from me.

* * *

"You are Sakura eh? If a recall, you infiltrated last night's Akatsuki meeting wanting to find out about Sasuke, hm?"

I gulped loudly and nodding to him slowly.

"I assume you want to know more about him?"

I again nodded hesitantly.

"Hold on then."He said, turning to open the door.

Deidara vanished inside, emerging five minutes later holding a thick yellow file. Deidara sauntered over, and handed it to me.

Filled with anxiousness, I sat at a nearby desk and started to read. I hadn't reached sentence three before a horribly cruel thought burrowed into my mind. Jealous girls are known to use Deidara's services to wreak other girls' social life. Karin could do it to me at whenever she wanted, so why shouldn't I be able to do it to her as well?

"I also want to see files on Karin!" I proclaimed, gaining more bravado.

Wordlessly Deidara slunk into the small back room. Instead of retrieving his file and giving it to me, he hurled it directly at me.

"Hope you can pay for all this."

Out of the blue, Deidara grew quiet. I couldn't figure out why, but I disregarded it.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can." I said as I began to read Sasuke's files.

According to his files, Sasuke was born into the legendary Uchiha clan. They were once revered for being masters of a doujutsu called Sharingan At the turn of the century when shinobi were being phased out, Uchihas adapted and became heads of business all over the country. Sharingan users no longer exist. Apparently Sasuke and his brother, Itachi were filthy rich due to the Uchiha's shift to business. Itachi had been in Konoha's school system forever now, although Sasuke just transfer in to public school. That certainly got my attention. Nothing else stood out as relevant though. I flipped through all visible pages and turned up nothing. Pets, I didn't care about. Transcript of grades until now, not what I wanted. Family tree, interesting I guess, although useless. Layout of his mansion, did Deidara have anything else to do?

I closed the file, starring crossly at Kairn's. This had to be more useful than Sasuke's.

_'Karin lives in South Konoha currently. Her parents were murdered last year in a violent shoot out in East Konoha. Since then she has been living alone in her house. However, four weeks ago her cousin moved in with her and she took on a second job to support him. Her cousin is-'_ My concentration shatter when my ears were graces with a loud bang. I perked up immediately to find Deidara gone from his quarters.

* * *

Outside the room it sounded as if Deidara and Hidan had found a new client.

"Lookie who is it, Shinju Takara! What brings you here?"

Shinju Takara? I recognized that girl as the creepy one who hangs around graveyards. She talked to ghosts and was said to be Sasori's assistant from what I heard.

"I am here in place of Mr. Akasuna. He ran into issues constructing a new puppet, so I am here in his place."

"Haha, will he ever get over his pathetic puppets? Every single one of them spits in the face a true art, hm!"

"Your art is superficial sir. It lasts long enough for you to see, but who else could possibly appreciate it in the same way- with all due respect."

"Fuck art! All you ever talk about is that damn art! Wanna know why no one uses us? Art takes up way too much of your fucking time!" Hidan interjected.

"Deidara, she wants to spend her money here. Do you know how many people want to spend their money here? Fucking no one Jashin damn it! So please, do not anger the customer!" He continued.

I rolled my eyes, Hidan had a point. This place kind of sucked at giving information.

"Fine, fine. Shinju, who do you need information about?"

"Before I tell you, Hidan, the sprits in the cemetery are growing restless again and I would like it if you could help appease them."

"Aw, already? I guess I'll do it tonight."

"Stay on topic Hidan! Shinju who do you need intel on?"

"Sorry sir. Mr. Akasuna needs to assassinate someone. Her name is Sakura Haruno."


End file.
